Dynasty League Rookie Prospect: Georgia Tech WR Darren Waller

We are a week away from the draft, and that means we are approaching that time where we get the opportunity to make our selections in our rookie drafts. In this piece we are going to explore the depths of the rookie wide receivers to talk about a wide receiver prospect that is going to be a trendy pick in the latter rounds of rookie drafts. That player is Georgia Tech WR Darren Waller. Waller was an unknown until he blew up the combine with his size and athleticism. After the combine he left a lot of people wondering if his athleticism and skill set can carry over to the NFL level.

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College Production

Waller started his career off by catching 8 receptions for 162 yards during his sophomore season (age 21). During his junior season (age 22) he caught 17 receptions for 368 yards and 3 TDs. To cap off his career at Georgia Tech, Waller caught 26 receptions for 442 yards and 6 TDs during his senior season (age 23). During his junior and senior season Waller missed the first two games of both season due to violating team rules. Waller accounted for 27.89% of Georgia Tech’s receiving yardage, 35.29% of Georgia Tech’s receiving touchdowns, and 7.62% of the team’s total offensive production. Georgia Tech as whole only passed for 1,882 yards as team in 2014, so Waller’s lack of production is a reflection of Georgia Tech’s run/pass ratio. Georgia Tech relied on the run heavily, so there weren’t any opportunities for Waller to produce high level production numbers. Waller had a strong market share of the receiving yards, and was an intricate piece of Georgia Tech’s offense with limited production. The biggest concern about Waller’s college production is his age; being 23 years old during his senior season and that being his only season with over 400 yards receiving is a major concern.

Player Metrics

Notable comparable players

Kelvin Benjamin

Dorial Green-Beckham

Not so notable comparable players

Ramses Barden

DeAndre Brown

Kelvin Benjamin broke out during his rookie season last year, and Dorial Green-Beckham is going to be drafted with in the top-50 during this year’s draft. Ramses Barden had relevance for a few games a couple of years ago, and DeAndre Brown never cracked fantasy lineups. Waller is a very intriguing prospect. He’s 6’6 238 LBS and runs a 4.48 40 yard dash. That is phenomenal for a man his size. He has an amazing vertical at 37 inches and is quick for his size with a 7.07 3-cone time. Waller could be a break out candidate if he can make his athleticism translate to the field.

Film Review

Waller is a very raw wide receiver. Waller runs a lot of go routes, and he has a very limited route tree. His speed from the combine translates to the field, because he would blow by corner backs while running his go routes. Waller would also run a lot of curl routes. What I noticed when he ran his curl and hitch routes that he’s very good at boxing out defenders keeping them away from making a play on the ball. Waller’s hands are decent. He won’t have many drops, but the ones he does drop seem to be concentration issues. He’s very good at using his height while the ball is in the air and coming down with jump balls.

Player Value

Waller is the perfect late round prospect for rookie drafts. He’s a long shot, but his ceiling is through the roof due to his athleticism. The odds of a 4^th round rookie pick or later hitting for your dynasty team are very slim, and if I had to guess the odds I would say around 5% of late round picks hit in rookie drafts. Players like Waller make great selections this late in the draft, because you will know quickly if they are going to be worth a spot on your roster. Waller is either going to get cut quickly or be a contributor to his team, therefore he’s not going to be a roster clogger for your dynasty team. You are either going to want to cut him at the end of the pre-season, or keep him around, because the up-side is close to coming to fruition. Waller is going to be drafted around the 7^th round of the NFL Draft, and he could possibly go undrafted. Waller is a swing for the fences that could pay major dividends for your dynasty team.

Need Help with your dynasty team? Contact me on Twitter @bmatz08 and I will give you the guidance you need to make the best decisions on trades, drafts, and the waiver wire.

Next: Dynasty League Rookie Prospect: Duke WR Jamison Crowder

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